Carnation plant named ‘Sunflor Triton’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of Carnation plant named ‘Sunflor Triton’, characterized by its very large purple red-colored flowers; upright and mounded plant habit; good basal branching with about 10 lateral branches developing after pinching; rapid growth rate; fragrant flowers, and good postproduction longevity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofCarnation plant, botanically known as Dianthus caryophyllus andhereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Sunflor Triton’.

The new Carnation is a product of a planned breeding program conductedby the Inventor in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. The objective of thebreeding program is to develop new compact Carnation cultivars suitablefor container production with attractive flower color and earlyflowering.

The new Carnation originated from a cross made by the Inventor of theDianthus caryophyllus cultivar ‘Rosso’, not patented, as the female, orseed, parent with the Dianthus caryophyllus cultivar ‘D. Japan’, notpatented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar ‘Sunflor Triton’was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant withinthe progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Aalsmeer,The Netherlands, in 1991.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken atAalsmeer, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of thisnew Carnation are stable and reproduced true to type in successivegenerations of asexual reproduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of ‘Sunflor Triton’. These characteristicsin combination distinguish ‘Sunflor Triton’ as a new and distinctcultivar:

1. Very large purple-red colored flowers.

1. Upright and mounded plant habit.

3. Good basal branching with about 10 lateral branches developing afterpinching.

4. Rapid growth rate.

5. Fragrant flowers.

6. Good postproduction longevity.

Plants of the new Carnation are taller and have larger flowers thanplants of the female parent, the dark red-flowered cultivar ‘Rosso’.Plants of the new Carnation are more compact, flower earlier and havelarger flowers than plants of the male parent, the pink-floweredcultivar ‘D. Japan’.

The new Carnation can be compared to the cultivar ‘Sunflor Surprise’(U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/379,263). However, inside-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Aalsmeer, TheNetherlands, plants of the new Carnation differ from plants of thecultivar ‘Sunflor Surprise’ in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Carnation are larger, grow faster and flowerearlier than plants of the cultivar ‘Sunflor Surprise’.

2. Plants of the new Carnation have larger flowers than plants of thecultivar ‘Sunflor Surprise’.

3. Plants of the new Carnation and the cultivar ‘Sunflor Surprise’differ in flower color.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH

The accompanying colored photograph illustrates the overall appearanceof the new cultivar, showing the colors as true as it is reasonablypossible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. The photographcomprises a side perspective view of a typical plants of ‘SunflorTriton’. Flower and foliage colors in the photograph may appeardifferent from the acutal colors due to light reflectance.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The cultivar ‘Sunflor Triton’ has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature and light intensity,without, however, any variance in genotype. The following observations,measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in 9-cm pots inAalsmeer, The Netherlands, under conditions approximating commercialpractice in a glass-covered greenhouse with day and night temperaturesaveraging about 20 and 14° C., respectively. Plants used for thedescription and photographs were about 10 weeks old.

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used.

Botanical classification: Dianthus caryophyllus ‘Sunflor Triton’.

Parentage:

Male parent.—Dianthus caryophyllus cultivar ‘D. Japan’, not patented.

Female parent.—Dianthus caryophyllus cultivar ‘Rosso’, not patented.

Propagation:

Type.—Terminal cuttings.

Time to initiate roots.—About 5 days during the summer and about 7 daysduring the winter.

Time to develop roots.—About 20 days during the summer and about 28 daysduring the winter.

Root description.—Fine, freely-branching.

Plant description:

Plant form.—Upright and mounded; inverted triangle.

Growth and branching habit.—Good branching with about ten lateralbranches developing after pinching, dense and bushy growth. Appropriatefor 9-cm and larger containers.

Vigor.—Vigorous.

Growth rate.—Rapid growth rate; starting with a plant grown in a 5-cmcontainer, about 10 weeks are required to produce a flowering plant in a15-cm container.

Plant height.—About 15 cm.

Plant width.—About 17 cm.

Lateral branches.—Length: About 12 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm. Internodelength: About 3 cm.

Color: 139A.

Foliage description.—Leaves simple; symmetrical; abundant; opposite;sessile. Quantity of leaves per lateral branch: About 24. Length: About6 cm. Width: About 6 mm. Shape: Linear; apex, acute; base, cordate;margin, entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous; waxy. Color: Young foliage,upper surface: 138B. Young foliage, lower surface: 138B. Fully expandedfoliage, upper surface: 138A. Fully expanded foliage, lower surface:138A. Venation, upper surface: 138A. Venation, lower surface: 138A.

Flower description:

Flower type and habit.—Purple red-colored double flowers. Freely andcontinuously flowering. Usually about three flowers per lateral branch;typically about 25 open flowers per plant. Flowers flat and convex.Flowers positioned mostly above the foliage; typically facing upright oroutward. Flowers persistent.

Flowering season.—Year-round under greenhouse conditions. In the garden,flowering is continous during the summer.

Flower longevity.—About two weeks on the plant.

Fragrance.—Moderately strong, clove-like fragrance typical of thespecies.

Flower size.—Diameter: About 4 cm. Depth: About 4 cm.

Flower buds.—Length: About 1.5 cm. Diameter: About 8 mm. Shape:Elliptic. Color: 144A. Rate of opening: About one week.

Petals/petaloids.—Quantity: About 25, overlapping. Length: About 3.5 cm.Width: About 1.7 cm. Shape: Mostly rounded; apex, acute; margin,serrated; base, attenuate. Texture: Rippled, dull. Color: When openingand fully opened, upper surface: Purple red, 63A. When opening and fullyopened, lower surface: Lighter purple red, 63B.

Sepals.—Quantity: Five. Calyx length: About 1.8 cm. Calyx width: About1.1 cm. Shape: Triangular; apex, rounded; margin, entire. Texture:Smooth, glossy. Color: Upper surface: 145B. Lower surface: 138A.

Peduncles.—Length: About 3 mm. Angle: Erect. Strength: Strong. Color:138A.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Stamen number: Up to ten. Antherlength: About 1 mm. Anther shape: Oblong. Anther color: 4D. Amount ofpollen: Scarce. Pollen color: Yellow. Gynoecium: Pistil number: One.Pistil length: About 1.7 cm. Style length: About 1.3 cm. Style color:4D. Stigma color: 63A. Ovary color: 144B.

Seed.—Size: About 2 by 2 mm. Color: Close to 202A.

Disease resistance: Under commercial conditions, resistance to pathogenscommon to Dianthus has not been observed.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Carnation plant named‘Sunflor Triton’, as illustrated and described.